Battle Isle®: The Andosia War
Important Information (Readme)
Read on for the very latest information about the game, which did not make it into the handbook because of printing deadlines. We have also included one or two goodies for you on the CD, and you can find out about these here as well.

Extras on the CD
You can take a look at the contents of the Battle Isle®: The Andosia War CD, by right-clicking on the icon for your CD-Rom drive and selecting “Open”.

THE SETTLERS – SMACK A THIEF!
The SMACK A THIEF! folder on the CD contains a fun-packed little extra from Blue Byte. The Settlers® - Smack A Thief! is one of those simple games you can play when you’ve a few minutes to spare. But be warned – it’s very addictive! The fact that you can publish your High Scores on the Internet via the BLUE BYTE GAME CHANNEL adds a little extra interest. If you get to one of those points in Battle Isle®: The Andosia War where you just cannot think of the right course of action, then let off a bit of steam with a game of THE SETTLERS® – SMACK A THIEF!, and then you’ll be able to return to Battle Isle®: The Andosia War refreshed and ready for anything.

Microsoft® Strategic Commander Profile
Do you have a Microsoft® Strategic Commander? We have put together a configuration of this device for you on the CD in the folder Microsoft Strategic Commander. The file Strategic Commander.htm explains how you can activate the profile and explains how the Strategic Commander’s keys have been assigned.

Saitek™ PC Dash 2 Profile
For those who have purchased Battle Isle®: The Andosia War outside of USA & Canada, which included a card for the Saitek™ PC Dash: if you have a Saitek™ PC Dash 2, you can use PC Dash 2 software to load the profile for Battle Isle®: The Andosia War directly. You can find it on the CD in the folder Saitek™ along with a picture of the PC Dash command card.

Blue Byte News
The News folder contains information about the latest Blue Byte products as well as free demos of our games. To access the News, simply click on the appropriate button in the Battle Isle®: The Andosia War Autostart menu on the CD. Go on, take a look!

Manual on the CD
We have included the manuals in PDF format. After installation, you can find them in the folder where you installed Battle Isle®: The Andosia War under data\manual\manual.pdf

Battle Isle®: The Andosia War - Technical Notes and Known Problems

Problems starting the game? Crashes?
Please make absolutely sure that you have installed DirectX® 7.0a. The Battle Isle : The Andosia War installer offers you DirectX® 7.0a if you have an older version of DirectX®. Even if you have installed DirectX® 7.0a and have problems starting the program, please install DirectX® 7.0a again. In our experience, start problems can often be solved in this way. If you would like to install DirectX® 7.0a at a later date, you can find it on the CD in the folder Redist\directx\.
Battle Isle®: The Andosia War makes use of state-of-the-art 3D software technology. Since the program does its best to squeeze as much as possible out of your 3D accelerator card, it requires faultless drivers. In our tests we found that graphical errors are almost always caused by antiquated drivers, which in some cases even lead to crashes. Please obtain the very latest drivers from the manufacturer of your graphics card.

Mouse Pointer moving too slowly or unsteadily?
Many (but sadly not all) graphic cards can depict hardware cursors, which move much more fluently. In the main menu of the game you have the option to adjust the appearance of the cursor under Options/Visual Settings/Cursor Set. All options with “HW” at the end are fast hardware cursors. If you have problems on your graphic card with your choice of hardware cursor (with older Voodoo cards, for example), you can deactivate the hardware cursors in the setup menu. The setup menu can be accessed via the CD Autorun menu or the windows start menu.

Sun Java™2 Runtime Environment V 1.3
The Sun Microsystems, Inc. Java Runtime Environment is a component which ensures that Java applets run smoothly. We recommend that you install this component if you intend to play Battle Isle®: The Andosia War on the Internet.
Java is used in the PLAY&CHAT area of the BLUE BYTE GAME CHANNEL for a piece of software, which connects you with people from all over the world for Internet gaming. If you have not already selected the Java Runtime Environment during installation of Battle Isle®: The Andosia War, please start \Redist\javainst\disk1\setup.exe on the CD in order to install this component.

Microsoft® NetMeeting
Please deactivate Microsoft® NetMeeting when you play Battle Isle®: The Andosia War. It prevents you from entering the screen resolution you require in full-screen mode. Alternatively, you can also run Battle Isle®: The Andosia War in Windows mode, (this can be selected in the setup program), if you would like to use NetMeeting at the same time.

What if the video sequences are too slow?
If the video sequences are not running smoothly on your machine, please change the video size to “original” in the main menu under Options/Graphics.

Multiplayer Games in a LAN and on the Internet: General Comments
As you would expect, we will continue to enhance Battle Isle®: The Andosia War, and adapt it to your wishes long after the game has been released. This is especially true for the multiplayer mode. We therefore also recommend that those players who prefer to play in a Local Area Network (LAN) frequently check for the latest updates on the BLUE BYTE GAME CHANNEL. You will be offered an update automatically after online registration, if you click on “Multiplayer Game on the BBGC”, in the Autostart menu on the CD, or “Network Play”. Then select "Connect to Lobby” in the main menu of the game. You can also download updates manually via Battle Isle®: The Andosia War – Web pages.
For Internet gaming on the BLUE BYTE GAME CHANNEL we recommend Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher.

Multiplayer Games in a LAN and on the Internet: Windows® 95
Some older versions of Windows® contain an obsolete system component, the WinSocket, which can lead to problems when playing in multiplayer mode. If you do use Windows® 95, you can find the latest version of WinSocket on the Internet here.
Please also install the Sun Java™2 Runtime Environment V 1.3 (see above) which is also on the CD or get yourself the latest Microsoft® Java Version on the Internet here.

Multiplayer Games on the Internet: Netscape®
If you use the Netscape® Browser, we strongly recommend Version 4.7. Please install the Sun Java™2 Runtime Environment V 1.3, which is on the CD (see above). When you start an Internet game for the first time, the Netscape® Browser will issue a series of security warnings. Please confirm all of these with “GRANT” and click on the check box “REMEMBER THIS DECISION”. Next time you will automatically arrive in the BLUE BYTE GAME CHANNEL Play&Chat software.

Multiplayer Games on the Internet: Firewalls
If you are playing Battle Isle®: The Andosia War behind a Firewall and are having problems, check that ports 3000-3004 are open.

Tips for Speeding up the Game
If you find that Battle Isle®: The Andosia War is running too slowly on your system, here are a few tips for speeding things up. The following settings are helpful in increasing speed, (unfortunately these also mean that you’ll miss out on one or two of the game’s optical delights):

F key – (switches the status and range of unit display on/off). Enabling this function can cause the game to slow down on less powerful computers.

In the Setup Menu (accessible from the CD Autorun menu or the Windows® start menu):
Object Texture: Quarter Size (very important)
Texture quality: 16 Bit, no detail textures (very important)
Land shadows: none (very important)
Mode: Enter 640x480 or 800x600

In the Options Menu (accessible from the game’s main menu):
Viewing Distance: short or normal (very important)
Texture filter: Bi-linear
Water quality: Low (very important)
GUI Setting/Cursor: Activate hardware cursor

Battle Isle®: The Andosia War - Final Changes

Changes to the Game

- Paths - an extremely useful tool for moving large numbers of units to distant places. If your units “get stuck” while following a path, it’s a good idea to set closer waypoints.
- Units now have the symbol on their status bar when they are on a path. If this symbol is missing, the unit is no longer following the path. The symbol vanishes if, for example, you select a path-bound unit and move it away.
- Changes to units:
  - The unit Genom and Ghost now only requires Radar upgrade level 1.
  - Radar can only detect higher-flying air targets (and is therefore unable to detect helicopters) and ships.
- Right-clicking on the small map in the top-right of the screen causes the large Overview map to appear.
- The yellow resources display shows diminishing resources when buildings have been deactivated automatically. Buildings are deactivated automatically when they exceed the storage capacity “Autom.Prod.Stop” displayed in the Options menu.
- Production restarts automatically as soon as resources fall below the storage capacity shown under "Autom. Prod. Start". Red numbers indicate that the building is not producing to a sufficient level even though resources have fallen below the lower limit.
- Yellow crosses above buildings indicate that the building has been stopped automatically.
- During path mode, the path symbol will cling to your mouse pointer, and can ONLY be sent on a path when normal unit movement is deactivated.
- With the option: Gameplay Options: Start turn pause can be set so that the game switches to pause mode automatically at the start of a player’s turn.
- Groups no longer stop automatically when they see an enemy; they simply relay a message that an enemy is in sight.
- Right-clicking on a quick production symbol stops production at the corresponding building.

Updated Keyboard Layout
Keyboard layout has been modified and enhanced since the manual was printed. Here’s the current version:

F | Switches the status and range of unit display on/off. The option “Activate the range of unit display with ALT” is no longer available. Enabling this function can slow the game down on less powerful computers.
TAB | Show/hide the overview map.
Shift | Zooms not just to a unit, but to the precise current location of your mouse pointer. This provides you with a quick and convenient way of checking out more distant areas.
, (comma) | Select next unit. During path-mode with selected waypoint: Next waypoint.
. (period) | Select previous unit. During path-mode with selected waypoint: Previous waypoint.
Backspace | Pass turn.
Ctrl | Issue a constant fire command in tactical mode. (Unit fires off all available ammunition until the enemy unit has been destroyed.)
/ (slash, next to R. Shift key) | Displays the steepness of the terrain.
ALT-K | Destroy own unit under mouse pointer. The scrap brings back 90% of the raw materials.
ALT-B | Replay briefing.
Esc | Main menu.
H, F1 | Display help menu.
I | Help on units/buildings.
O | Display mission objectives.
U | Units menu (if unit is selected).
F6 | Quick save.
F7 | Quick load.

BLUE BYTE HOTLINE

USA & Canada only
Our technical support lines are open between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. central time, Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays.
The number is +1 (512) 343-1099.
Or send us your request via E-Mail to: mailto:hotline@bluebyte.com

Customers outside of USA & Canada
Our technical support lines are open between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. GMT, Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays.
The number is +44 (0) 1604 25 90 90.
Or send us your request via E-Mail to: mailto:hotline@bluebyte.com